Roadside cable box operations

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Permalink Reply by Justin Keller on September 3, 2009 at 8:24pm

We thought we had one of those, come to find out it was a transformer. We just baby sat it and waited for the utility company to show it. It did cause another small fire down the street and a few smoke scare....pretty entertaining. Im going to assume it was from the "dirty" electricity. I know I did nothin for your question...lol. I would do that same as you did.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Meijerink on September 7, 2009 at 8:14am

Didn't want to throw anything out there right away, as I'm not terribly knowledgeable on this - just have enough to get myself in trouble.

Most cable systems should be running a fairly low voltage on the distribution end of things. The amplifier is where you are going to get into trouble - that amplifier is likely powered 120VAC (or more???) as it is using the power to create a more powerful signal for the everyday Joe sitting at home watching television. I would treat something like this, with an amplifier that potentially still has power as a live electrical fire. Certainly, an ABC or BC drychem is a good option. A CO2 would be okay too. I've now run across a "water mist" extinguisher. This type is filled with de-ionized water. Something like this could work too. Locally, our hospital has these in rooms with CT scan machines and the like. The beauty of them is that you are dealing with pure h2o, and everything is balanced - no spare electrons floating around to get you fried.

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Permalink Reply by G. Douglas Webb on September 9, 2009 at 3:44pm

The key to this is to know exactly what you are dealing with. Many of these "boxes" look alike but contain all sorts of different things. First priority is life safety - No one close don't risk your life. Next, is the power source secure? If you don't know, let it be. If it turns out to be a power transformer rather than a cable or phone box, there is no telling what is in it. Many transformers are oil filled and have ceramic insulators in them. Older transformers used to have oil with pcb's in them. That has been outlawed and they have been dumped and refilled with new oil. However, The pcb residue is still in them and thats a big hazard. Ceramic insulators will explode if they are cooled and then they reheat due to re ignition caused by electricity. This will even occur when using a dry chemical fire extintuisher. Best bet... Get the utility on the way and sit basck at a safe distance and wait

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